Can opener



I. E. COX

CAN OPENER July 9, 1963 Filed Aug. 3, 1959 v INVENTOR. IVAN E. COX

RI M4 TTORNEY United States Patent 3,096,580 CAN OPENER Ivan E. Cox, 4740 Broadway, Kansas City, Mo. Filed Aug. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 831,303 1 Claim. (c1. 306.1)

My invention relates to a combination can opener that both cuts an opening in the can for the discharge of the contents thereof and pierces the can to form an air hole therein.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide a can opener of the above referred to character that is capable of one hand operation by a single movement of the opener constantly in the same direction without the movement of the hand of the operator from the position on the handle that is assumed when the opening operation is commenced.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide a can opener of the above mentioned character, in which the handle portion will be in a position when the hole piercing prong engages the can, such that the operator will not have his hand in an awkward location.

In order to carry out these purposes, I provide a can opener that has a rigid body portion that is bifurcated at one end thereof to provide a punch portion and a rigid leg extending in divergent relation to the punch portion that is longer than the punch portion and is provided adjacent its extremity with a prong for piercing an air hole in the top of the can, said leg and handle portion being so related that when the prong has pierced the end wall or lid of the can the handle portion will be approximately parallel to the said lid or top of the can in a convenient position for carrying out this operation.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide a can opener that has an intermediate shank portion that has the handle portion at one end thereof and the prong carrying leg and punch portion at the other end thereof, which intermediate shank portion is connected with said handle portion by means of a curved portion so as to have the handle portion extend in a direction that is approximately parallel to the prong carrying leg, whereby said handle will be approximately parallel to the can top or end wall when the prong pierces said top or end wall.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description of the drawings proceeds. I desire to have it understood, however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the particular details shown or described, except as defined in the claim.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of my improved can opener.

FIG. 2 is a view in perspective, showing my improved can opener in engagement with a can in the position it has just prior to the punch portion entering the can.

FIG. 3 is a similar view thereof, showing the same in the position that it assumes when the piercing prong has entered the can, a portion of the can being broken away and FIG. 4 is a fragmentary face view of the forward end of the can opener having the punch and piercing prong thereon, as seen substantially from the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, my improved can opener is shown as having a body portion 5 made up of a pair of members 6 and 7 that are secured together in any suitable manner, as by means of rivets 8. Said body portion has at one end thereof a punch 9, which is provided with converging side edges 10 that terminate in a sharp point 11. Said side edges are beveled to provide a cutting edge along each thereof, thus serving as an opener portion that is adapted to enter the top 12 of the can 13 and cut a substantially triangular opening therein adjacent one edge thereof. In order to hold the cutting "ice punch 9 in engagement with the lid 12 of the can, a prong or finger '14 is provided that is adapted to engage under the bead 15 around the top of the can. The punch portion 9 is curved on an arc as shown clearly in FIG. 1, and'is an extension of the member 6 of the body portion 5, which also has the prong 14 punched out of the same.

The forward end of said can opener is provided with a straight leg 16 that extends substantially perpendicularly to the curved punch portion 9 from a position a considerable distance back of the pointed end 11 thereof and is of considerably greater length than the punch portion. Said leg is an extension of the member 7 of the body portion 5 and both the members 6 and 7 are made of rigid material. Accordingly the leg 16 extends rigidly from the punch portion 9 and tapers toward the extremity 17 thereof and has a piercing member 18, which is provided with a sharp point 19 thereon mounted near its extremity, said leg 16 being imperforate from its junction with the punch portion 9 to the piercing member 18 adjacent its extremity. The members 6 and 7 may be rigidly fixed to each other by spot welding or otherwise, between the straight intermediate shank portion 20 of the can opener, longer than the leg 16, and the bifurcated portion formed by the punch 9 and the arm 16 and, preferably, is curved on substantially the same curvature as the punch 9 at the portion 21 located between the arm 16 and the shank portion 20.

The handle portion 22 is provided at the opposite end of the body portion from that which is provided with the bifurcations, consisting of the leg 16 and the punch 9, and is provided with a curved portion 23 connecting the handle portion 22 with the straight shank portion 20. The curvature of the portion 23 is such that the handle portion 22 extends substantially parallel to the leg 16 so that when the leg 16 is in engagement flatly with the lid 12 and the prong or finger 14 is in engagement under the bead 15, said handle will extend substantially horizontally outwardly from the can. The handle may incline slightly downwardly with respect to the top of the can when in this position, but must not extend upwardly beyond the can lid, as this puts the operators hand in an awkward position.

It will be obvious that the can opener can be moved from the position shown in FIG. 2 continuously in a clockwise direction so as to first pierce a triangular hole in the top of the can with the punch 9 and an air hole in the can with the prong 18 without moving the hand fromthe handle and by a continuous swinging movement of the hand from a position adjacent the can to one extending horizontally outwardly from the can. It is also to be noted that, although rivets 8 are shown for securing the members 6 and 7 together, and spot welding is mentioned for securing the curved portions 21 to each other, either or both forms of securement of the two members 6 and -7 on the body portion may be utilized. Also, instead of the leg 16 being an extension of a continuous member, such as the member 7, running from the end of the handle to the end of the leg, any other means of providing a leg portion, such as the leg portion 16, fixed in position rigidly and extending from the body portion of the can opener, may be provided as long as said leg portion is related to the prong in substantially the manner shown in the drawings and extends substantially parallel to the handle portion 22.

What -I claim is:

A can opener comprising a pair of rigid metal members, one of said metal members having straight parallel end portions and an intermediate shank portion, a punching prong mounted adjacent the extremity of one of said end portions, said shank portion being of greater length than the end portion having said prong mounted thereon and extending at an oblique angle to said parallel end portions, and the other of said metal members having a straight end portion secured in face to face engagement to the other straight end portion to provide a handle for said opener, an intermediate shank portion conforming to said shank portion of said first mentioned metal member and secured thereto in face to face relation, and an arcuate end portion terminating in a sharp point to provide a punch extending from the end of said straight end portion having said punching prong thereon that is adjacent said shank portion of said first mentioned metal member in divergent relation to said last mentioned straight end portion, said arcuate portion being shorter than said straight end portion diverging therefrom, said other metal mem- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,567,457 Weller Sept. 11, 1951 2,614,319 Shands Oct. 21, 1952 2,621,402 Gutekunst Dec. 16, 1952 2,632,241 Haislip Mar. 24, 1953 2,663,076 Robinson Dec. 22, 1953 2,723,450 Caracciolo Nov. 15, 1955 2,741,835 Nagy et al Apr. 17, 1956 2,850,800 Carlson Sept. 8, 1958 

